


Coffee Keeps the Story Going

by WinglessCrows



Series: Through the Eyes of a Cook [6]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Bedtime Stories, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 17:23:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9133903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinglessCrows/pseuds/WinglessCrows
Summary: Sanji tells Robin a story about a young prince who dreams of the All Blue





	

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Years guys! I wanted to upload something to celebrate so here you go!

It was not often Sanji found sleep hard to come by, but everyone had their nights and this was Sanji's. It wasn't anything in particular, but after lying in bed for two hours mindlessly staring at ceiling, he gave up on trying to force sleep and decided that a good cup of tea might do the trick. Sanji walked soundlessly out of the men's quarters and into his favorite part of the Sunny; the kitchen. He started boiling some water and found a soothing blend of lemon grass and strawberry green tea, but then he remembered who was on watch and he doubled the water and prepared to make a good cup of coffee as well.

Sanji entered the crow's nest and found Robin seated by a window with a book and a blanket. She was barefooted and wore a silk pyjamas set. Unlike Nami who greatly preferred a light silk dress, Robin always wore trousers and a buttoned shirt. Her hair was tied in a loose ponytail with a few strands of hair left out of it and covering her face. All in all, she looked very comfortable.

"You should be sleeping," Robin said without looking up from her book and calmly turned the page.

"I know," Sanji smiled. Robin had somehow taken the role of the calm mother on the ship and Sanji liked it because it meant that she felt like a part of them and he was always afraid that she somehow wouldn't. A silly fear really.

Sanji gave her the coffee. She thanked him and put down her book, not even bothering to mark the page. Sanji found another blanket and sat down by another window, still facing her. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes just enjoying their drinks.

"How come you can't sleep? Nightmares?" Robin said almost teasingly, because she knew that wasn't the case. Sanji chuckled lightly.

"Yes, I dreamt that I was eaten by a giant Marimo," he said and she laughed.

"Must have been horrible," she smiled and they laughed again.

"I heard a story long ago," Robin suddenly said after a while and looked out the window, "about a boy who joined a pirate crew lead by a kind Captain with a dream of finding the All Blue," she looked back at him, "Do you know it?"

"I do."

"Well, I never heard the full tale, maybe you could enlighten me?" She wore the smile she always had when learning something new about the void century, about her dream and now when she was to learn of Sanji's.

"Well, long ago, a young boy lived with his family and one day he wandered into their great library. The boy had a many siblings, who treated him not all too kindly," Sanji felt that he was sharing things he wasn't supposed to, but if he said too much, Robin knew how to keep a secret, "that day his siblings were training in the yard and the boy took the opportunity to read the books his father always told him weren't worthy of someone of their status..."

"Their status?" Robin tilted her head slightly.

"Yes, though they had no land to claim as their own, they called themselves royals," he definitely wasn't supposed to share this, but whatever, "but the boy didn't care about status, he cared about the world outside of the house where he had lived his entire life. So he found a book labelled _the mysteries of the world_ and he learned a great many things. He learned that somewhere far away there was something called the Grand Line where seasons can change so suddenly that you may have a heatwave one minute and a snowstorm the next. He learned of the mysterious period in time called the void century, where a century's worth of history had been lost. He learned of the mysterious fruits made from the devil, which robbed you from your ability to swim, but in exchange gave you a unique power. And he learned of a mysterious sea known as the All Blue, where fish from all over the world would meet. A paradise for chefs."

"Was the boy a chef?"

"No, not yet, but he dreamed it. He would often sneak down to the kitchen to observe the cooks, servants and maids, and in the night he would try to recreate some of their recipes, but he was never successful. One time, his father had found him and the boy had been locked in the cells without food for two days as a punishment."

"It sounds rough,"

"Not as rough as the story about the girl who dreamt of the void century, but I think you know that one."

"Yes, but that one has a happy ending," Robin smiled.

"So does this one," Sanji said and continued, "One day the boy and his family had been invited to a meeting of kings in the Holy Land and the boy saw his opportunity. Upon arriving the boy stowed away on a ship called The Orbit which was headed for East Blue, the weakest of the seven seas, and therefore the last place the boy's father would be looking for him. The boy found work as an errand boy for the kitchens and after befriending the cooks they started teaching him, but it wouldn't last long... A few days after arriving in the east, a storm hit and with it; a pirate raid. The pirates had taken the treasures of the ship, but before they could retreat, a great wave hit and the ship was sunk."

"And did anyone survive?"

"Only two, the boy and the pirate Captain. They washed away on a rocky island, where they made a pact to stay on opposites sides of the island and only contact each other, if they spotted a ship. The Captain had given the boy a small bag of food that would last about five days, while he kept a bag five time its size for himself."

"That seems selfish."

"It did, but the boy had no choice but to accept it and did as he was told. He ran out of food after twenty-three days. On the seventy-fifth day he was on the brink of insanity and he decided to break the pact and went to see if the pirate had any food left. He found the bag untouched and opened it only to find the treasure the pirates had taken from the ship. The boy then went to the pirate wanting to understand his actions and found that not only had he given the boy all of the food, but to survive he had eaten his leg, which had been his pride in battle."

"Oh my!" Robin exclaimed quietly.

"The pirate told the boy that he let him live because the two shared the same dream of finding All Blue and if they ever got off this rocky island from hell, he would use the treasure to open a floating restaurant and the boy promised to help him. They were rescued on the eighty-fifth day."

"So the boy who dreamt of becoming a chef almost starved to death. How ironic fate is."

"Indeed." Sanji said and looked out the window, "The boy and the pirate opened up their restaurant and the boy slowly, but surely learned the ways of a cook, but in the midst of everything he lost sight of his dream. He felt like he could never repay the pirate for what he had done for him and thus promised himself to never leave the restaurant. And then the kind Captain came along and invited the boy to join them on their travels. They were headed for the Grand Line, where the boy could once again chase after his long lost dream, but he declined. It wasn't until he fought with the Captain and watched his conviction first hand that he understood, but even then it wasn't enough. So the pirate who had lost his leg and dream for the boy kicked him out and forced him to leave with the Captain, because he knew that would make the boy happy."

"And did it make the boy happy?"

"Yes, very."

"And what of the boy's family. What became of them?"

"He never saw them again, but he didn't care, because he had a new family now and he loved them far more than he had ever loved anyone else." Sanji looked at Robin and she understood very well, because he was not the only one to have a family in the strawhat pirates.

"How about another cup of coffee, Robin-chan?"

"Sounds lovely, maybe you could tell me the tale of the girl and the fishmen?"

"It would be my pleasure."


End file.
